


Above We Fly

by Ajrose



Category: Haikyuu!!, ハイパープロジェクション演劇「ハイキュー!!」| Hyper Projection Play "Haikyuu!!" RPF
Genre: Friendship/Love, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 23:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17150900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ajrose/pseuds/Ajrose
Summary: Tragic past and wanting a new beginning, Hinata Shouyou pursues her dream of becoming the new Tiny Giant of Kurasuno High, battling with her insecurities and facing her fears—while also making new friends. Rule Number one: No one is supposed to know she's a girl! Female Hinata Shouyou.(Original author wanted me to promote the story and her profile; enjoy.)





	1. Chapter 1

I do not Own Haikyuu!

Fly

One I

Hinata Shouyou

Some people say that the best players have natural talent, born with the genes, have famous parents who once played the sport and became great. However, all of that can be put aside or ignored when one doesn't meet the height requirements.

"You can't be part of the team, Shouyou," said the captain of the middle school Volleyball team. Her eyes glaring hard at Hinata. She was envious at her, she was beautiful, likable, cheerful, had the skill and was very ambitious. "You're too short." The only thing every other team player had over Hinata was their height.

Shouyou pouted, narrowed her eyes at the girl. She decided to keep her tongue back. Sometimes it's not worthed, she thought as she sat on the bench she was used to already. Her eyes analyzing her team players motions, the way they spiked the ball, hit, ran, stopped, jumped; she spotted so many holes and flaws, only the eyes of the daughter of an Olympic volley player could see.

For the most part of her life, her dad didn't stick around, he was always busy and had things to do. But when he was around on break, he was there cheering her on, teaching her the basics and also nurturing the natural talent she had. Everything was going great and perfect, her father planned to bring her to a professional private school that focused on Volleyball when she became of age, but… he met his end on Hinata's 14th birthday. She waited, and waited and waited and waited and… waited. Yet he never came back. It was all thanks to his sense of justice. He threw himself in front of a bullet to save a little boy from harm.

Hinata Shouyou was never able to show her talent as a fragile girl, so in her mind, she decided to see how it felt to say that she was a guy for a change. Probably then, people might respect her talent and skill.

Her reflection in the mirror was nothing short of beautiful: bright, chocolate eyes like her Dad, red hair like her Dad. She looked just like her Dad.

Now she was going to cut it, make it look short so it could resemble her Dad. Maybe that way, people wouldn't look down on her anymore. Her eyes streaming tears down the sink, the scissors in the right position, she cut and saw the ginger hair fall on to the cold tiles of the bathroom. Now, she thought, more tears falling down her face. Now, people will respect me.

. . .

Karasuno high, the high school that used to be famous four years ago, due to the Tiny Giant. Now, this year, Hinata Shouyou plans on becoming the next Tiny Giant, while hiding her true identity.

She held the ball within her hands, seeing the rubber surface, smiling to herself because even though she was short, the manager of the team didn't seem to bother with her application and said that she was welcomed any time. The gym was bigger than her middle school one, at least twice the size. The net was neatly placed so Hinata warmed up a bit, stretched, jumped, ran a couple and then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a guy looking at her as if she were some kind of alien.

"You're a first-year, right?" he asked, walking in, his gym clothes just like hers. She supposed he was another player on the team. He sure was tall though, as he got close, she could tell that he was at least a whole foot taller than her.

"Yeah," she said, trying not to show that she'd gotten nervous. "You a second-year?"

He seemed to be shocked. "No," he replied. "First-year, too."

Then she knew why he was so shocked about her talking. Her voice was so soft. Oh, well, she thought, I'll be a soprano guy. She saw him looking at her, especially at her chest. Even though she strapped it, one could still see a small bulb. "What?" she asked instinctively. She was too used to guy looking at her chest, even more, after her growth spurt. "Look away, jerk."

"Oh, no I'm not gay," he said. She laughed. "I like girls, man. Sorry."

She continued to laugh so much, her stomach began to hurt. "From what school are you?" she asked after a while, her face still red from laughing so much. I do like guys, so might as well act the part.

"I'm from Kitagawa Daiichi," he uttered, almost ashamed. "I was a setter."

Hinata grinned. "Really?!" she said, nearly surprised. "Would you set a spike for me? Please?"

She saw the look on his face, angry, or probably sad? "You're a spiker?" he asked after a while, shocked. "But you're so—"

"—Short?" Hinata broke him off with a curled smile. "Yeah, I know, but I can still jump."

She saw him scoff as if he were challenging her. "Alright, then," he said with a smirk. "You better be quick."

Right as he said those words, he threw the ball into the air. Hinata felt everything go in slow motion around her, her eyes fixed on the ball, her legs moving fast. Her cheeks were inflated with air, she liked running that way. That way when she would hit— "Yes!" — she wouldn't miss. She jumped so high, the ground was so far away. She looked down, at the floor, her feet dangling.

For the first time, Hinata spiked a Volleyball coming from someone else other than her father.

"What the hell, man?!" A voice, not belonging to the blue haired guy, roared in the gym. Startled, Hinata jerked her head in that direction, seeing a bald guy. He looked more like a gangster.

He ran over to her, shook her shoulders excitedly and said, "You're really on our team?! Are you real? You looked like a god-damned eagle in the sky!" he turned around, "Didn't she, Daichi?! He's really on our team!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I was the one who recruited — er — him," he said, raising an eyebrow over to Hinata. She blushed. He was aware of her gender. After all, he was the one that persuaded her to join the Karasuno team.

"Who's this other guy?" asked the gangster fellow. "Oh, right! He's the guy they all called King from — what was the name of the school? — Oh, Kirigawa first, right? The best setter in their year."

"It's so good to meet you two," said the guy with the silver hair. Who in fact, Hinata thought was cute. "The name's Koshi Sugawara," he took Hinata's hand and shook it, "but you can call me Suga or Sugawara, I don't mind."

Hinata blushed a bit. "Hinata Shouyou," she uttered, "but you can call me whatever you want."

Sugawara looked over to the tall guy who set the ball for her. "And you might be…?"

"Tobio Kageyama," he nearly spat the words.

Daichi smirked. "You're so tall," he said, "how tall exactly?"

"About six feet tall," he replied, nervous.

"You're quite off the short side," Tanaka said to Hinata.

"But I can jump high," she retorted, "higher than any wall!"

They resorted to mourning routine practice, then when the school day ended they talked and practiced in the afternoon and gave a schedule. Other players would be joining another day, Daichi told them and wished them off a good day.

. . .

It had been three days, and Hinata and Kageyama were currently practicing receiving and spikes, because the other day, Daichi, the captain of the Karasuno Volleyball team—who also is aware of Hinata's actual Gender—noticed that Kageyama's sets were a little bit too fast, however, Hinata was the only one who could touch them. Unless, of course, Kageyama would tone it down a bit, but he always seemed grouchy and angry when his teammates would tell him to tone it down. That's why Hinata and Kageyama were considered the perfect Duo.

"C'mon," exclaimed Hinata; her legs quivering with the excitement of spiking the ball, "Give it to me, Kageyama!"

She saw him grunt and throw it into the air. She was about to jump, when another really, really, tall guy reached for the ball. He had blonde hair, a smug of someone who enjoyed looking down on others, who in fact struck annoyance in Hinata. Especially because after insisting Kageyama on a change to spikes for over an hour, this guy stopped her.

"What's the big deal, buddy?" Hinata snarled, angry and annoyed, then, as the guy faced her, she felt afraid. She mostly acted tough, but she actually wasn't tough. "Uh — er — I mean… can I have the ball back?"

The tall guy laughed, which of course annoyed Hinata. "You're on the Volleyball team?" he sounded shocked. "They really let someone like you on the team?"

This went un-noticed by Kageyama, who by now had his palms in fists. "Chose your words carefully," he warned. Got close, pushed the blond guy away, stepping in the middle of the two. "Get lost, man."

One thing Hinata noticed often was that Kageyama had his ways with defending. He became really intimidating when he was frustrated or angry, however, the blond guy seemed less of a push-over. Because even if Kageyama wanted to, he wouldn't attack the guy.

"Look who decided to talk," he sneered, a smirk on his face. "The King of the court."

Hinata knew that he was known for being the king, but she wondered why did he always get mad when called by that nickname. She angrily stomped her feet. "What so wrong with being called the King of the court?" she retorted, making the blond guy raise an eyebrow. "I would love to be called the queen — er — King of the court. It's a great nickname, stupid!"

"Don't call Tsukishima stupid!" there was a loud squeak that escaped the boy that stood behind the blonde. Hinata thought that the freckles on his face made him look adorable, but still, he was on the Jerk's side.

"You're really as stupid as you look, aren't you?" inquired the blond guy, who by now Hinata knew was called Tsukishima. "They didn't call him King of the court because of his skills in VolleyBall, but because… he was more like a dictator than a captain."

Hinata frowned.

"But do you know what happens with bad dictators in the end?" asked Tsukishima, not really expecting an answer. "They get overruled. And that's what happened to this King."

Now Hinata finally understood why Kageyama hated that Nickname. It brought back painful memories. Betrayal is one of the worst ways to hurt someone, and he was faced with the betrayal of his whole team. Even if he was a total jerk at times, no one deserved to be betrayed by those who supposedly called you captain or Friend.

And yet… it angered Hinata that Tsukishima called him out that way. Even if he had a good-looking face, it didn' mean that she already disliked him. "Still," uttered Hinata.

"Still what, shortie?" Tusikisma challenged.

"You have no right to call him out that way," she got close, her eyes wide and without motion. "He made a mistake; so what?"

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "I've heard that one before," he said. "But looky', here, shortie. You decided to Join the VolleyBall team, and now you want to spike a ball over a net that is at least two feet taller than you." He got too close into Hinata's personal space, and now, close to whisper, he uttered, "you can't hide who you really are, Hinata Shouyou."

In that instant, Hinata knew that this guy had either figure out that she was a girl or the daughter of an Olympian VolleyBall spiker. Her legs trembled, remembering her past and how people treated for being a woman. Oh, no. She hoped that she was dreaming.

Tsukishima walked away, dropped the ball and left, behind followed his friend, who Hinata didn't know the name of, yet.

"Hey," called Kageyama, holding a concerned look on his face. "You okay? What did he say to you, man?"

Hinata shook her head.

"Are you sure?" he insisted. "You look shaken up a bit."

Hinata shook her head again. "I'm okay. It's just cold." She lied.

Kageyama shrugged. "Well, we should call it a day, don't you think?"

Hinata nodded.

"We live sorta in the same direction… wanna go?"

"Sure," she uttered.

After a while of walking, she could tell that Kageyama was holding his tongue back. He wanted to say something, but he just didn't. She also wanted to ask him why he was such a jerk in middle school, but she considered it personal, especially after how his body shuddered with the memory. He must have been really traumatized.

"Hey, Kageyama?" said Hinata, "I'll never betray you, ok?"

She saw him nod. "What do you mean?"

"So I'm going to tell you a secret that only me and Daichi know." She looked around as if someone were watching them. "Promise you won't tell anyone, okay?"

"Why—"

"Promise me!" Hinata broke him off.

"Okay," Kageyama sighed in defense. "I promise."

"I'm not what I seem to be," muttered so quietly Hinata, she was barely audible. "I'm actually not a guy… I'm a girl."

After a long moment of silence and walking, after so many seconds of tense energy, after so many waiting and suspense, Kageyama questioned, so quietly, he seemed to not have heard her: "What?"

"I'm a girl."

"Oh, cool."


	2. II

Fly

Two II

Hinata Shouyou

Hinata and Kageyama wiped the floor with Tsukishima and Tadashi. Both of them were drenched in sweat, tired and ready for a break. But Hinata and Kageyama were still practicing. The stamina Hinata had was incredible, and the grit that Kageyama had to keep up with her was almost as incredible.

The doors banged open, revealing a rather skinny guy, with spectacles and brown hair. He seemed to might have a run and was now tired. As he finally took he breath, he said, with the most excited voice, "I… got you guys a match…" he was wheezing air until after a while he finally recomposed.

Hinata saw Tanaka, the gangster guy, take a step forward. "Say that again, Takeda-sensei?"

Now more determined, Takeda stood straight and said, "I got you guys a practice match!"

"Really?!" Tanaka shouted excitedly. "With who?"

"This is really good news, Takeda-san," said Daichi. "But who accepted to play with us? We aren't even recognized anymore." He did his best to hold his composure.

"No one has chosen to play with us for a while now," said Koshi, "It's just a little weird."

Takeda nodded. "Well, — er — they have conditions." He gulped takin in everyone's reactions. "The school's name is Aobajosai—"

Hinata noticed Kageyama shudder.

"—and their condition of letting us play with them is if…" he looked over the players. "If Tobio Kageyama accepts to play as the setter."

Everyone looked at Sugawara, his face seemed a little shocked—except Hinata, she was looking at Kageyama with jealousy. He always got recognized by everyone who uttered his name. Besides, he was the only other guy—besides Daichi—who knew about her. He seemed a little out of it at times, but after a while, he might have gotten used to the facts. So, after a while, they've become good friends. Or at least, Hinata hoped they would.

"That's unfair," said Tanaka after a while. "Sugawara is our official setter—"

"It's okay, Tanaka," broke off Koshi, his eyes still pinned to the ground, but he now had a smile. "If they want Kageyama to set, it's fine. Besides, I have seriously started to consider leaving him as the official setter. He's really good."

Hinata saw Kageyama blush.

"But—ahh fine."

"Are you sure, Sugawara?" Daichi asked, his eyes full of concern.

"Yeah."

"Then that settles it," said Takeda smiling weakly. "I'll let the other school know that next week we will be there to have a practice match."

. . .

It had a full weak of practice and rest and eating well. Hinata was told that she'd be playing in the game by the team manager, Kyoko Shimizu. She was a rather kind girl with her, aware of her gender, of course, she could tell just by seeing how bad Hinata was at strapping her chest. She thought her to do it so that no one could be able to notice she had a bulb, but even so, Hinata's chest was at least a D sized, so it seemed impossible a while. And even if she covered her chest, Kyoko told her, everyone could notice that she had the most mesmerizing hips a guy could certainly have. This made Hinata blush.

"Just make sure you tell everyone you are attracted to guys," she repeated. "If not guys will be rude to you about your aspect."

"Do I really look like a girl that much?" whined Hinata.

Kyoko pursed her lips. "It isn't a bad thing at all, Hinata. It just means that you're a really pretty girl."

"That's no good," blurted out Hinata.

"Why?" asked Kyoto.

"Well, people seem to like me more as a guy," she admitted, her face sunken to the floor. "I just don't want to be looked down at because I'm a girl."

Before Kyoko had a chance to reply, Takeda had announced that it was time to get on to the mini ban. Besides, Tanaka kept of crying because he believed that Hinata was dating Kyoto. She'd spent so much time speaking to her, it just seemed as if they were close. Especially taking into consideration that Kyoko barely spoke to any guy.

"We'll continue this conversation another day, okay?" Kyoko said.

Hinata nodded.

Hinata loaded on to the bus, after being told that she was going to be in the set up for the team. They all wanted her to do her super quick combo with Kageyama and receive the ball. She was good at everything, but when it came to Jumping, she was the best. She could square with even Tsukishima who was at least a foot and a half taller than her. She still spoke to him, and after she showed her skill, Tsukishima seemed more comprehensive and nice (in his own way).

"Shoyou… remember, when it comes to jumping—"

"I know, Tanaka-kun," she broke him off. "I'm the best jumper on the team." He looked at her smiling as if she were his apprentice. He then slapped her on the back and wailed about something of being a great learner.

"They grow up so fast, Sugawara," said Tanaka between tears. "I can barely take a breath."

Koshi laughed. "She's just naturally gifted, that's why you say that. But still, he does seem to have some skill." He faced Hinata. "Which middle school did you say you came from? We would have heard of some short ginger that jumped at least twice his own height…"

Hinata was about to reply, nervous, but Daichi, fully aware, alongside Kageyama both cooly tried to avert the question for her. "Leave it at that, Suga," Daichi uttered. "No need for any more questions. We aren't in a detective office."

"Yes, what he said," added Kageyama, acting really suspicious. Daichi had a natural talent on averting people and distracting them, but of course, Kageyama didn't begin to compare. He was too awkward. "Uh, he's just talented, Okay?"

"That's something coming from you," said Koshi sounding impressed. "Alright then. Hinata will be a mystery to us."

Hinata laughed by the face Kageyama was making. Everyone then caught on, her laugh was very influential. High School was becoming the best times of her life, especially because the people who knew, and trusted, seemed to accept her for who she was, seeing not what she had externally—which was being a girl and short height, but they saw her raw skill.

The mini ban came to a stop, the nerves were reaching Hinata, making her feel as if she had eaten something bad for breakfast. Everyone got off, excited and nervous. Especially Hinata. She'd heard of this school having a player just as known as Kageyama, who was also an incredible setter. The cool air touched her skin, goosebumps followed.

"This gym is huge…" she uttered, amazed.

Kageyama nodded. He glanced at her with a worried face. "This is where most of everyone on my prior team goes to," he admitted, "I'm a little frantic."

Hinata after being friends with him for a while, she'd come to see Kageyama for who he really is: Cool. However, when one would tell him that he would shrug it off like nothing, and that made him cooler. Still, she'd notice since she told him about her secret, they've begun to get close. Not in that way… more like friends.

She got in front of him and smiled. "Don't be scared, Kageyama." She grinned. "Or I'll call you a chicken."

"What did you call me?" inquired Kageyama with a glare.

"N-no-nothing…" muttered Hinata, cowering out. "Yet."

She dodged his glare, laughed, and by the corner of her eye she could see a half smile on Kageyama's face. It was knocked away when two, very tall guys appeared from behind them. Kageyama's eyes grew wide and concerned. At that moment, she knew that these two were from his old Volleyball team. Her smile dissipated. These guys betrayed their captain. They betrayed someone that used to consider them a friend.

"Oh, look, it's the King," said a guy who's head resembled a turnip. "Wonder if he's gone bossing his new team around." This made him and the other guy laugh.

"He's next to his minion I suppose," said the other guy, who Hinata though his head resembled a bowl, but they had just called her a minion. This was no time for thinking of food or their head. "He's so tiny, I almost feel sorry for him."

Hinata squealed accidentally. "I'm not his Minion!"

"You sure look like one, though," said turnip guy.

Hinata saw Kageyama's face. It was pouty and didn't get off the ground. However, from behind she heard the rustling of steps. She grinned, knowing fully well that the scary people on her team were coming.

"What' you say about our shortie, man?" inquired Tanaka holding a scowl on his face. "Because I'll rip your face to shreds."

Tsukishima seemed to chuckle. "No need to do that, Tanaka," he snarled with a very sarcastic tone. "They are just scared. That's what weaklings do before a match to make them feel better about themselves." Hinata saw the smirk on his face. "But in the end, it all comes down to the best team."

The guys growled, narrowing their eyes, glaring right at the Karasuno Team. The tense energy was becoming really thick until a palm made contact with Tanaka's head. "Don't scowl like that, Tanaka. It makes you look weird." Daichi appeared. The Hero. Alongside his sidekick, Sugawara.

"I'm sorry for what they might have said," he said, forcing Tanaka's head to vow. "We'll see who's the best team on the court, though."

The guys scoffed. "We'll see." Then they ran off to their gym.

Everyone made their way to the gym except for Kageyama, who still had his eyes glaring at the soil. Hinata said that she would be there soon for warm up, that she had something she forgot in the ban real quick. But it was a lie, she went over to Kageyama and poked him in the cheek.

"I'm okay," said Kageyama. "It's just that I got the memories."

Hinata pursed her lips. She didn't like seeing Kageyama this way, this wasn't him. "Hey…" she sighed. "Remeber the promise I made you a few weeks ago?" She didn't get a reply.

"Well, it was more informing you rather than promising to you," said Hinata with a smile. "I said that I would never betray you. And I know that the rest of the guys would never hurt you like that…"

He nodded.

"But now I will make it an official promise," she grinned and forced Kageyama to shake her hand. "We will get to nationals one day," she giggled, "and I want, until that day for you to keep your head held high." Kageyama finally looked at her. "I can feel it. We will become the best High School team in Japan."

Hinata felt Kageyama give her a light squeeze to her hand. She giggled and so did he. "Hurry up to the gym, shortie." He jogged his way to the gym with Hinata next to him.

Everyone could notice that his mood had been lifted. Tsukishima chuckled and approached Hinata. "You kiss him or something?" he uttered, really quietly. "Because he sure looks happy."

Hinata blushed as red a tomato. So he was aware of her gender.

"Don't worry," he assured. "I'll tell no one about you, even if I'm aware of Daichi knowing. I had to confirm my speculations."

Hinata frowned.

"Why though?"

He chuckled and walked away. But before he looked away, he winked. She rolled her eyes. Tsukishima was really, really, really, secretive when it came to knowing him. Only Yamaguchi seemed close enough to him to make him laugh at times but mostly because they were making fun of somebody.

They all warmed up and got ready for the match. People from other clubs seemed to have been informed that they were going to have a practice match, so they came to support their school and began to gossip.

"They have someone who's so short on the front line," said a random guy. "I think that's pretty stupid."

Kageyama growled, but Hinata told him to tone it down. When it came to showing off she was really good at it. She said that on the court, that's where she would show her real skill.

Everyone got into their position, Hinata in the front middle, Kageyama on her right, Tanaka on her left, Daichi right behind her, Tsukishima on Daichi's left and Koshi on his right.

The referee gave the whistle to start.

Koshi served, making it across the net. A guy received, Hinata saw Turnip-guy get into a spiking position, while someone else set it. This was her moment to shine. She saw him spike, decently, but blocked it off with a jump. Everyone was in utter shock. It hit the ground with an echoing sound. She grinned.

"Good one, shortie!" shouted Tanaka awfully excited. "Who knew that you could read people. Man, that's so cool."

Koshi served again, Hinata this time analyzed their next move. Turnip guy was now behind, so another guy spiked, Tanaka one touched it, Kageyama gave a quick glance to Hinata. She nodded, ran across the court to confuse nearly everyone, and saw the ball coming. It felt as if she were in slow motion, her feet were way above the ground, her hands were in the correct position. All she had to do was hit. And she did.

"What the hell was that?!" Turnip-guy called out, who by now Hinata knew his name because people often called his name: Kindaichi. "That was crazy fast! I couldn't even see it coming."

Tanaka grinned at him, bragging about the quick attack. Hinata fell to the ground and squealed in excitement. "I love spiking!" she exclaimed. Kageyama and her did their handshake and saw how everyone looked in awe. Especially those who use to belong to Kageyama's prior middle school team.

"One more time!" she shouted as the game went on.

They beat them at the first set 19-25, the next one was about to start when a very tall guy walked into the gym. Many girls squealed as he did, and now Hinata knew why. The guy who walked in was… very good looking. Her heart gave a couple of slow beats, even skipping one for an instant.

"Not you, too," said Kageyama glancing at her. "C'mon get your head into the game."

She blushed.

"O-ok," uttered Hinata. "But who is he?"

Kageyama seemed intimidated. "He's the Captain of their team." He sighed. "He's their ace setter," he narrowed his eyes. "Damn Oikawa."

"So does he have a name?" asked Hinata casually.

"Yeah," said Kageyama, "but you don't need to know that."

Hinata pouted, and got in the back, ready to serve. She did so and saw that the guy was warming up, while some other girls mentioned that he had fractured his ankle, that's why he was on a leave and that's why he was now warming up at least for three-fourths of the game. Putting aside how good he looked, he still sent warning signals to her brain. She also got a chilling feeling from him. It was until they called him in that he now looked right at her with an eyebrow raised.

He mouthed something over to here, but she couldn't quite catch what he meant. Frowning, he served. She was barely able to see it coming. It dashed right passed, her, and now she knew that he targeted Tsukishima who was next to her. He was definitely a pinch server. As the referee whistled, Hinata immediately moved Tsukishima out of the way, saw the ball coming and received. Her writs burned.

"I got it!" she shouted, seeing it rise into the air. She nodded at Kageyama, ran as fast as she could, from side to side, saw it coming

BOOM

The ball hit right next to Oikawa. As Hinata fell back on to the floor, she saw him smiling. His eyes observing her short body. Her face warmed in seconds; she hated being looked for too long. They've won the match. 23-25. Definitely close.

The match came to an end, Hinata and Kageyama high fived, Tanaka, carried her excitedly, Koshi, Daichi, and the others all wrapped up.

It was time to say goodbye and shake hands with everyone, and when Hinata reached Oikawa's hand, she felt a slip of paper. Frowning, she glanced at Oikawa's eyes, he smirked and winked. She felt her body quiver in that second. She looked away, played the paper in her pocket, and when she got outside, she saw what it said:

Hi, there!

Just so you know, Hinata Shouyou, I can see through your mask. I know you're a girl, and I know who your father is. How? Well, if you'd like to find out, sweety, text me at this number: 4000 5526 [Heart] ❤

Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.

The guy you never stopped staring at, Toru Oikawa.

She squealed, annoyed and feeling like a girl once again. Why did he look for her? She didn't know, but what she did know was that her disguise was slowly fading. Sooner or later she would have to tell them.


	3. III

Above We Fly

Three III

Hinata Shouyou

More, and more bloody practice followed for the next week. Tsukishima and Hinata spent a whole lot of time together, learning from one another. Even if Kei didn't like admitting to it, Hinata was a whole lot more skillful than what he was, but of course, he would only tell her stuff to make her mad ("That all you got, shorty?"), and other times to see her throw a fit and become all pouty ("And I thought that you wanted to make it top nationals"). She would teach him how to read block, but the best advice could give him was experience, ("Only when you're up against someone you want to defeat so badly, that's when you just kind of see a second ahead.") Which of course, as proud as he was, he would never surely see the logic in front of her.

"One, two, three!" counted Hinata, on his side, her hands hovering the net. Kei did the same, counted with her, saw Tanaka spike, and barely touched it.

He grunted.

"That was really good, Tsukishima!" said Hinata cheerfully.

"Not good enough," said Tsukishima fixing his glasses, not bothering to look at her.

"Only when you're up against someone you want to defeat so badly—"

"—that's when you kinda see a second ahead," he broke her off, "yes, I know. I just don't see Tanaka as a challenge."

"What?!" inquired Tanaka angrily, lifting sleeves he didn't even have. But Koshi got him in time and told him something nice, so he could be quiet. ("Yeah, I know. I'm the best!")

Hinata saw Kegayam practicing his jump-serve. She decided to not only watch but to also practice her receives, while also granting company to her grouchy friend.

He served, Hinata positioned herself where the ball was aiming towards and—to her standards—did a decent receiver. Kageyama boomed in anger towards her but was cut off by the sudden clapping of someone walking into the gym. Hinata saw him, short, funny hair, a body of someone who constantly worked out, bruises on his arms, knees …. she knew who he was. He was the Karasuno Libero.

"Really well done, short-stuff," he blurted out, still clapping. He walked over to her, picked up her hands and hummed as he saw the red spot on her skin. "You're definitely experienced when it comes to receiving!" He shouted excitedly, "and that jump-serve—" he faced Kageyama, who began walking in their direction, "—that was awesome—needs a little bit of work—but awesome!" He was grinning really hard.

"Thanks, man," said Kageyama with a small redness to his face.

"Y-yeah," uttered Hinata, trying to act cool, "thanks, bro."

He nodded, then measured his height with Hinata's. His face frowned, then twisted in happiness. Hinata knew why. She felt that often when she would sight someone who was shorter than her, which of course, was hard to find.

"I'm taller than you," he said happily, a grin plastered on his face, "this is actually happening!"

"Get over it," hissed Hinata with a pout.

She saw him talking to Koshi and Tanaka, while she and Kageyama were practiced with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. It was until Daichi walked in and told everyone that the Ace needed to come back. She also found out that the short guy's name was Yu Nishinoya and he was known as the Guardian Deity Karasuno High because of tremendous skills as a Libero.

. . .

Hinata scurried over to school after morning practice, sat down and took out her phone. She glanced at the messages she'd been sending with Oikawa, evidently not telling anybody that she was in contact with him.

She found out how Oikawa knew so much about her and her father. It was because he was the person her father defended all those years ago, and when he told her priorly, Hinata was completely awestruck and didn't message him back until her senses came back to normality. She told him what she thought, ["Well, I'm proud of him anyway. He must have seen a big future for you, then."] And he replied accordingly, ["That's why I know your last name and recognized you immediately. He had the same hair and eyes. It was seeing him again, but tiny and… beautiful."] Which of course made her blush, but she didn't tell him that. They had begun to grow very close, she told him why she preferred the mask of guy rather than being a girl. For a moment there, she was afraid that he'd stop talking to her or laugh at her, but they began to talk on the phone at that time, and well, they became good friends. He wasn't the person that Kageyama talked about. Not at all.

Coming back to reality, Hinata knew that it was kind of a mistake to familiarize with someone like him. Especially considering that he was her rival. But there was a stupid connection that made them talk, and to Hinata's concern, she didn't feel any desire to stop.

The class was quite boring, the teacher explained some rubbish in English, which were way out of Hinata's league of concern. She didn't have a knack for study, especially language arts; she was better in Mathematics though, because they were simple and clean and only had one answer. All additional answers that came with language arts were too complex for her. Her class was full of monkeys who paid attention, so there was no stopping Hinata from taking a long, sweet nap. However, her mind fixated on what Daichi, the captain of the Karasuno Volleyball team had mentioned earlier. He mentioned that it was already time to recover the Karasuno Volleyball team Ace. Hinata wanted to know more about him and why he was so good, and how the title of Ace was bestowed on him. And also, she was also concerned with the fact that Nishinoya became gloom when Daichi mentioned The Ace.

As her head fell on to her desk, finally feeling her eyelids fall in how tired and bored she felt, Kageyama called her name. She could have sworn that she had barely closed her eyes. "Wha' is it, Kageyama?" she mumbled, her face still stuck in her desk. She could already feel Kageyama's venomous glare.

"It's about the Ace," said Kageyama, which made Hinata shot her head up like a bullet and got up just as quick. She nearly knocked Kageyama away as she tripped on her own feet. Of course, she fell onto Kageyama, felt a blush cover her face because her face was on his chest. Oh, geez, she tough and moved away so quickly, avoiding what had just occurred.

"We are going to ask Sugawara who's the ace and then from there we'll persuade the ace to join." The two were walking over to the third year building, seeing many squirming faces as they walked by. Of course being first years made third years cringe or probably make fun of them.

Hinata felt a little bit of nervous walking through the crowd or enormous guys, all snarling and hissing at her, seeing her feminized features, acting as if she were a guy. She clung to Kageyama's arm, not realizing that her actions could make Kageyama look bad, too. As she got apart, this guy, being as rude as they come, pushed her so hard, she fell back.

"Oops," said the bully with a scowl, who in fact Hinata noticed had a face like a squashed prune, "I couldn't see such a short homo walking by," he smirked, "but I'm not sorry."

She felt her face warm up, tears welling in her eyes. She knew that she would be getting this, especially acting the way she did. Standing, she bowed, "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"You better be," hissed the guy, getting to close for her liking, "why don't you get the hell out of here." She saw him looking at Kageyama with disgust. "You may not look like he does, yet you're dating this freak. Walk away, if you know what's good for you—"

"That's enough, Satori," broke off a rather tall guy. So very tall, he was as tall as Kageyama. She saw the look on the Bully's face, she raised an eyebrow. He had frozen in place, utterly afraid. "Don't you think you're being way judgemental? Love is love. Let it be."

The guy paled, glared at Hinata and left. She then looked at the guy who had defended them, and then realized that he was sweating. He had a tight man-bun, broad muscles that seemed as if he worked out quite much. She smiled weakly, bowed again, then said, "thanks."

Kageyama still looked very, very angry, that the wrinkles on his face shriveled like a plum. "That guy," he snarled lowly, his palms curled into fists and his eyes narrowed. "Next time I see him, I'll kick his ass."

When the tall guy decided to stop sweating, he sighed and faced the two first years. "What are two doing here?" he asked as if he'd just gotten back from a run, "last I heard this is the third year building, and if my eyes don't lie to me, you guys don't look as old as I do."

Hinata decided to talk because Kageyama still seemed shaken by the bully. "We were looking for the Vice-captain of the volleyball team—"

She saw the guy shudder.

"—Sugawara-san, and ask him for the name of the Ace to our team. We wanted him to come back so that we could have a chance at Nationals, y'know?"

"I'm the guy you're looking for," said the tall guy after a while, "and the Name's Asahi. But well—"

"It's really you!" said Kageyama, now it seemed that he'd completely forgotten about the bully. "I'm Kageyama and this is Shouyou," he bowed slightly, "you're just as they described."

"What do you mean?" asked Asahi with a frown. Hinata couldn't take her eyes off him, he was just too—

"Cool," said Kageyama, his face pouty.

"Oh, no," said Asahi, shaking his head, "I'm nothing close to cool."

Hinata then squealed a little, and after grinning, she contained herself enough that she could finally speak. "Please, please, please, please come back to the team!" she blurted out, her eyes wide in excitement, "We really need you, Asahi-senpai," she slapped her hands together and bowed, "we're begging you!"

"Er—" Asahi being overwhelmed, took a step back, again, shaking his head.

"Please?" added Kageyama.

Hinata saw Asahi sigh. "Look," he pursed his lips, "you guys can do well without me. I'm completely done with Volleyball. It's just not my thing anymore… it's not fun." He saw the looks on their faces and averted their eyes. "I just lost the spirit."

Hinata frowned. "Well, you sure don't look like someone who's lost hope in Volleyball," she said after a moment of silence. "See... me and Kageyama made a promise to make it nationals, and well, we need you, Asahi-sempai." Hinata then smiled. "But saying that you no longer enjoy Volleyball just doesn't sound right coming from you…."

"You see… When I jump and see the wall of hands, for a second I wonder what's on the other side…. But when I hit the ball and feel a sting on my palm, I also see that I've successfully spiked, and the other side becomes clear!" she gave a small bounce, "and I feel like I want to do it again."

After a while, Asahi seemed to have kept quiet and was in deep, deep thought. "There's practice later today," said Kageyama, pulling Hinata away from the classroom. "We do hope to see you there, Ace."

The two left, swiftly and worried that the bully would come back. Hinata felt a little bit of embarrassment, but she wasn't alone in it. She'd brought Kageyama into the picture. They called him a faggot, and it was all her fault.

They passed the second year building and were coming close to the first-year building when Hinata had a craving of sorts and strolled over to a bending machine. She chose a refreshing drink and offered Kageyama something; he chose chocolate milk and promised to pay her back. She assured him to not worry about it.

After a moment of silence, Hinata wanted to ask why. Why did he not say anything? "Hey, Kageyama-kun?"

"Hmm?" he hummed, slurping on the last of his milk.

"Why didn't you defend yourself earlier?" she asked not feeling very thirsty anymore. He frowned, and she sighed. "When that bully called you — er — gay?"

He frowned again. Then as if someone had shot him in the face he finally remembered. "Ooh," he said after a while. "That."

Hinata nodded.

"He didn't technically call me gay, did he?" he smirked.

"No, but—"

"I know you're a girl," he broke her off, reaching his hand over her, to throw his box of milk away. She blushed at the proximity. "So it didn't piss me off that he attempted to call me a faggot."

"T-th-then what did?" asked Hinata weakly.

"When he pushed you," he nearly spat, he was beginning to get angry again. "And when he got to close to you, without apologizing."

"Don't worry about that, Kageyama-kun…" she muttered, while also averting his eyes. "I look for that trouble as I tell the world that Ima guy."

She noticed Kageyama roll his eyes. "You are such an Idiot."

"Hey," retorted Hinata.

She saw him laugh. Then she laughed.

"But you sure are a cute Idiot at that," he uttered so quietly, it was impossible to have heard him, yet Hinata did.

"You called me cute," said Hinata with a laugh. "What's wrong with you, Kageyama-kun? Do you need to see the nurse?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I never called you that," he said, "you must have been daydreaming." She saw him cross his arms and walk away.

"The bell's about to ring," said Hinata after a laugh, "Let's go to class."

Even if Kageyama wanted to deny it all his life, Hinata heard him and decided to never forget the look on his face.

. . .

[Oikawa: You should go out with me.]

[Free up your schedule, come n see me and we can talk volleyball]

Hinata giggled through the lecture.

[Hinata: Why would I take off practice to go and see u?] she texted, a smirk on her face.

[Oikawa: You know you want to come (Winky emoji)]

She rolled her eyes.

[Hinata: Still, Daichi would kill me if I didnt show up.]

[I don want to be thrown off the team jus for something like that.] Writing through a lecture was never easy. She had no time for correct grammar or spelling or punctuation.

[Oikawa: Pleaseee?]

[I really want to see u, and Ill get you somethin]

[anything for u]

Hinata giggled once again. Daichi would never kill her, but he sure would strangle her till she passed out.

[Hinata: I don need anytin]

[But I can maybe see you on Saturday after mournin practiss]

[Oikawa: Thats perfect!]

[Meet me at the mall by downtown]

[Next to the waterfoundtain at 1oclock]

[I canttt believe thiss is happeningg]

Hinata laughed a little bit too hard, getting a couple of reactions through the classroom. Gratefully, the teacher didn't notice her using her phone. She then texted:

[Hinata: Ok]

[Talk to u later, gotta pay attention to classs]

[see u on Saturday (Winky emoji)]

He then texted as immediately as she replied. The speed shocked her.

[Oikawa: Ill b waitin for u at the fountain!]

[Don forget, kay?]

[See you (heart emoji)]

She couldn't believe that she had accepted on a date with her rival. This was utterly crazy! Her heart was beating so quickly, it took her a while to contain the emotion. She would never admit it to anybody, barely even to her self, but she was crushing a little on Oikawa. No one had to know about this. Nobody.


End file.
